Wireless digital communication systems wirelessly transport electronic mail (email), text messages, text files, images, Voice Over Internet Protocol (VoIP) data, and any other types of digital data and communications to wireless devices. Wireless communication system providers are facing the prospects of having to comply with a variety of legal-intercept (wiretap) requirements. Authorization for a legal intercept may include warrants for “wiretap/interception”, “search and seizure”, or both. For example, the requirements outlined in CALEA (US Communications Assistance for Law Enforcement Act of 1994, http://www.askcalea.net/) may have to be met by any proposed solution. In another example, the requirements outlined by the Australian Communications Authority (http://www.aca.gov.au) in the Australia Telecommunications Act of 1997 may have to be met by any proposed solution.
There are several technical challenges complying with these legal intercept requirements that may not exist in conventional telephone systems. For example, the intercepted data may be encrypted. The wireless network provider must be able to intercept the encrypted data, and any other non-encrypted information, without tipping off the intercept target that the wiretap is taking place.
The wiretap warrant may require the communication system provider to provide any intercepted information in substantially real-time or may require the communication system provider to intercept and store communications in an automated manner for later retrieval and analysis by the law enforcement agency. Evidentiary problems exist with information intercepted outside the presence and control of the enforcement agency. For example, the intercepted communications could be either intentionally or inadvertently deleted. A system malfunction could also prevent some communications from being intercepted. There is also the evidentiary issue of whether or not someone has tampered with the intercepted information. It may also be necessary to prevent technicians operating the communication system from accessing or viewing the intercepted information.
The invention addresses these and other problems with the present technology.